How The Watchmen TV Show Is Handling The Comic's Most Controversial Element

There have been many questions surrounding HBO's upcoming WatchmenTV pilot, and now we have a few answers. For one, new information from the set seems to confirm that the TV version will take place after the events of the Watchmen graphic novel. And for another, we're now in the know on how faithful the show will stay regarding Ozymandias' much-maligned squid monster plot that resulted in a decimated New York City.

New information culled from the set seems to confirm that the show's canon will treat Ozymandias' duplicitous squid monster scheme as a past event that went through as planned, per Slash Film. And the city's population has responded accordingly within the TV show's world. Measures have been set up to protect the populace in case of another attack, through the use of shelters and possibly other means. It is a telling sign that people have remained alert for otherworldly disasters. So does that indicate El Squid-o took place in the recent or distant past? It is still unclear, but there are more clues.

In another crucial event for the central super-squad, set pictures also revealed that Ozymandias, real name Adrian Veidt, is reportedly dead, as laid out in a newspaper article. The supposed death of the squid attack mastermind could have enormous implications for society at large, though sighs of relief may be in short supply. Even though he may be dead, it does not necessarily preclude the possibility that Ozymandias has another attack up his sleeve that was set up to be enacted following his demise.

Of course, there is also the issue of whether he is indeed dead or not. According to the slightly hard-to-read article, Veidt is only being declared dead, after not having been seen in many years. So the proof of his death apparently isn't out there. If a guy can plan the kind of attack on humanity that involves getting swaths of people believing in a faux alien attack that legitimately killed half of the population, one cannot put it past the same guy to fake his death in order to plan out future conquests. Nevertheless, his supposed absence is a huge plot point to get revealed this early, and it also gives fans a lot to speculate about. With so few confirmed plot details to go on right now cluing fans in on how Damon Lindelof is remixing the original story, that is a crucial one to have.

With some cast members in place and production seemingly in full swing, fans should not have to wait much longer to behold more from the vision showrunner Damon Lindelof. From the sound of things, the TV show will take place within the universe of Watchmen, while also being a world away. In fact, Lindelof has compared what he is doing with this TV show to how the Fargo TV show handled its own connections to the source film, which is likely a fair comparison to make. For all intents and purposes, and for the sake of some semblance of clarity, it seems like the Watchmen TV show will tell new stories that are set in the same universe.

We're likely still a ways away from hearing whether HBO will order Watchmen to series or not, but we can't wait to hear more. For new upcoming and returning television shows you can anticipate over the next couple of months, check out CinemaBlend's guide to TV's summer premieres. If you are curious about upcoming TV shows that are set to stream on Netflix, CinemaBlend has you covered with our 2018 Netflix premiere rundown as well as our guide to Amazon Prime's premiere schedule.